All posts tagged: loophole

Apple ends education discount loophole for non-students and non-teachers

Apple ends education discount loophole for non-students and non-teachers

Published by skeptic

We hope you took advantage of that $499 MacBook Neo deal in the Apple Education Store, because if you’re not actually a student or teacher, that discount is now closed off for you. Apple’s Education Store provides online discounts for students and educators. In the case of the already very competitively priced MacBook Neo, that discount was a whopping $100 off Apple’s latest laptop. Previously, anyone could shop at the Apple Education Store, with Apple simply using an honor system with its users, allowing anyone to shop there with the assumption that they were a student or teacher. Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creator today! However, starting this week, Apple changed its Apple Education Store policy. Apple is now verifying that a consumer is actually connected to an educational institution before allowing them to make a purchase. Many companies offer discounts for educators and students, first responders, and other groups, and these types of third-party verification tools are a common industry practice. Mashable Light Speed Apple is utilizing the services of a …

Trump faces 60-day Iran war deadline, Hegseth floats ceasefire loophole

Trump faces 60-day Iran war deadline, Hegseth floats ceasefire loophole

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump exits Air Force One as he arrives at Miami International Airport in Florida, U.S., April 11, 2026. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Donald Trump is running up against a Friday legal deadline that threatens to halt U.S. military operations against Iran — but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Thursday that the ongoing ceasefire nullifies that cutoff date. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, Trump is required to withdraw U.S. armed forces 60 days after reporting their deployment to Congress — unless the legislative branch authorizes the military action, which it has not done. The U.S. and Israel first struck Iran on Feb. 28, and Trump sent a letter notifying Congress of the action on March 2, starting the 60-day clock and setting up a May 1 deadline. Trump may seek a 30-day extension under the resolution, but he has not done so yet, according to lawmakers. Hegseth, however, said in Senate testimony Thursday that he believes the statutory countdown clock “pauses or stops in a ceasefire.” The U.S. and Iran are …

Do credit card gambling bans reduce harm or shift behavior? Experts say there’s always a loophole

Do credit card gambling bans reduce harm or shift behavior? Experts say there’s always a loophole

Published by skeptic

As more states move to block credit cards from gambling, the policy sounds straightforward. Cut off borrowed money, reduce harm. In practice, the results are mixed. The rules change how people pay, but they don’t always change why they gamble or how they manage their money. Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney in Virginia, sees the gaps up close. She questions whether limiting a single payment option can do much when people can shift funds in minutes. “Not being able to use credit cards on gambling apps may help reduce credit card debt for a few people,” she told ReadWrite, “but many people will just use their credit cards for their other expenses.” In everyday life, that can mean using a debit card to place bets while quietly leaning on credit for rent, groceries, or utilities. Not being able to use credit cards on gambling apps may help reduce credit card debt for a few people, but many people will just use their credit cards for their other expenses. Once the debt is in …

The loophole that keeps a Trump loyalist as L.A.’s federal prosecutor

The loophole that keeps a Trump loyalist as L.A.’s federal prosecutor

Published by Sam Flores

Across the country, President Trump has installed handpicked loyalists as top federal prosecutors. Several have been pushed out after legal battles because they lack Senate confirmation to serve as U.S. attorneys. But in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli wields the power of a top prosecutor under a lesser title: “first assistant.” Essayli clocked his first full year in office this week. He has survived the kinds of challenges that sunk Trump picks in other states through a combination of legal gamesmanship by the U.S. Department of Justice and a lack of action by judges in the Central District of California. Essayli has used his position to act as one of Trump’s fiercest legal foot soldiers. He has pursued criminal charges against protesters, activists and immigrants while dropping cases involving administration allies and supporting lawsuits over transgender and environmental policies in California. After Trump’s firing Thursday of U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, it’s unclear how her replacement will handle continuing battles over the legality of Trump’s appointees. Essayli is popular with high-level administration officials, and received a …

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ‘loophole’ that could see him forgiven | Royal | News

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ‘loophole’ that could see him forgiven | Royal | News

Published by Sam Flores

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has seen his reputation further ripped to shreds following his arrest on February 19, which also happened to be his birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. After 11 hours in custody, Andrew was released later that day under investigation. No charges have been brought. Although he has faced disgraced over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his appearance in the Epstein files, experts have suggested that the 66-year-old could be forgiven for one major reason. Simarjot Singh Judge, managing partner at Judge Law, has said that any further action could not occur as it would depend on one thing. Speaking to the Mirror, he added: “Some offences, such as misconduct in public office, do require the individual to be acting as a public officer at the time. “That is a relatively narrow legal category, and it is not automatically satisfied simply because someone is a member of the Royal Family. It would depend on whether they were performing an official public function recognised in law.” He added: …

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor set to keep major honour due to tricky loophole

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor set to keep major honour due to tricky loophole

Published by Daniella Wilson

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to keep one of his final remaining honours as it cannot legally be removed.  The former Duke of York, 66, was stripped of his remaining titles back in October by his brother, King Charles, meaning he is now no longer known as Prince. However, he is set to keep the Freedom of the City of London, which was received in 2012 “by virtue of patrimony”, because his father, Prince Philip, was a Freeman.  The City of London Corporation told the BBC: “Applications via patrimony are not considered by our elected members. We have carefully considered whether it is possible to remove a Freedom granted by patrimony and understand that we are not able to do so.” The ancient honour has previously been presented to royals and sports stars, such as Sir Lenny Henry and Cate Blanchett. It is largely ceremonial and allows recipients a “sense of belonging” in the city of London. It is the highest honour the City of London can bestow, though anyone can be nominated. One of the …

Is Pokopia on Switch 1? Nintendo’s weird loophole explained

Is Pokopia on Switch 1? Nintendo’s weird loophole explained

Published by Daniella Wilson

One of the surprise hits of 2026, Pokémon Pokopia is every Pokémon and Animal Crossing fan’s dream come true, but is it on Switch 1? As with many things Nintendo is involved with, the answer is surprisingly complicated. So, for all the details on how to play Pokopia on a Nintendo Switch 1 console, here’s what you need to know! Is Pokopia on Switch 1? Pokopia is not on Switch 1, but you can play it via Switch 2 GameShare. GameShare streams a version of the game to another Nintendo Switch 2, or a Switch 1. Think of it like split-screen of yore, but separated across two devices, where the main Switch 2 console will be doing all the heavy lifting, and outputting that to another device, which can use its own controls to interact with. Want to see this content? To show this content, we need your permission to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes to load content on this page. Something to note is that you can only use GameShare with a …

Loophole found that makes quantum cloning possible

Loophole found that makes quantum cloning possible

Published by skeptic

Backing up information on quantum computers is tricky RUSLANAS BARANAUSKAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy In quantum mechanics, the idea that quantum information can’t be duplicated is ironclad – or at least, it was. A surprising approach to backing up qubits, the basic units of quantum computers, appears to allow a sidestepping of this fundamental law of physics. The no-cloning theorem was first discovered by researchers in the 1980s. It says that quantum states that describe all the information about a system can’t be copied. Attempting to measure the information to copy it would simply destroy the delicate quantum properties that you want to measure. This fact has proved important for quantum technologies like encryption, leading to simple protocols that prevent information from being copied and hacked. Achim Kempf at the University of Waterloo in Canada and his colleagues have now shown that a quantum system can, in fact, be cloned, as long as the information about it is encrypted and enclosed with a special, one-off decryption key. “You can make a lot of copies and generate redundancy …

Britain ‘writing the Kremlin cheques’ with Russian oil loophole   – POLITICO

Britain ‘writing the Kremlin cheques’ with Russian oil loophole   – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

But according to new research, between the ban on direct imports coming into force in 2022 and the end of 2025, the U.K. has nonetheless imported £4 billion of jet fuel and other oil products made at refineries in India and Turkey, which run partially on Russian crude.   The analysis, by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), estimated that £1.6 billion worth of the products imported from these refineries would have been made with Russian oil.   India remains the second-largest international buyer of Russian crude oil after China, while Turkey is also a major importer. Both process much of the oil in refineries, producing oil products such as jet fuel, which are then sold on to other countries. This so-called “refining loophole” is one of the major weaknesses in Western efforts to reduce Russia’s fossil fuel income, CREA said.   With Putin’s war against Ukraine approaching its fifth year, ministers pledged in October to close the loophole, announcing a ban on oil products made with Russian crude in third countries. Responding to CREA’s new findings, a government spokesperson said they “expect” the ban to be introduced this spring.  But with a similar European …